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T-Mobile began the new year with a new phone plan designed for families and accounts with three or more lines. The Better Value plan is available Jan. 14 for what the company says is a limited time, though I confirmed with a representative that it currently has no end date.
Despite its name, the question is whether it actually offers a better value compared to the Essentials plan, which we rank highly in our Best Cellphone Plans, Best Unlimited Data Plans and Best T-Mobile Plans lists.
In fact, after reviewing the specifics, T-Mobile's Experience More plan -- the number two unlimited postpaid plan -- presents a more interesting comparison.
Better Value plan pricing and features compared
For an account with three lines, the monthly cost of the Better Value plan is $140 (with AutoPay active), plus applicable taxes and fees. Experience More similarly costs $140 a month for three lines. The Essentials plan costs $90 a month for three lines, but lacks most of the add-ons that make the other two plans appealing.
Both the Experience More and Better Value plans offer unlimited data on T-Mobile's 5G network, a five-year price guarantee and two-year device upgrades.
However, the Better Value plan includes 250GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, compared to 60GB for the Experience More plan. After those amounts have been used up, data is available at an unlimited rate of 600 kbps. (T-Mobile's highest tier plan by comparison, Experience Beyond, includes unlimited high-speed hotspot data.)
Better Value also includes more high-speed data when you're in other countries, with 30GB available in Mexico and Canada, as well as in 215 countries and areas worldwide. That's more than the Experience More plan, which offers 15GB in North America and 5GB elsewhere.
Announcement of the T-Satellite launch date on stage at a T-Mobile event.
Jeff Carlson/CNETT-Satellite is also included in the Better Value plan, a feature that costs $10 extra for every other T-Mobile plan except for Experience Beyond.
One appeal of these plans, especially in the context of families, is the set of included streaming services. The Better Value plan and Experience More plan both include Netflix Standard with Ads and Hulu, and Apple TV can be added for $3 per month.
Important qualifications
Here's where the fine print comes in, and it appears that T-Mobile is aiming to inspire and reward loyalty.
If you're switching from a different carrier, the Better Value plan requires three or more lines and two eligible ports. Although it's likely a family or small business would be transferring from another provider and not keeping its other lines, Better Value is an effort to build up group plans and incentivize switching away from other carriers.
If you're already set up with T-Mobile, the Better Value plan requires that you have been a T-Mobile postpaid customer for at least five years. And if you have that much tenure, you should be aware that your current plan might have taxes and fees included, whereas the Better Value plan doesn't.
The Better Value plan will be available in the T-Life app and on T-Mobile.com. When you enter a retail T-Mobile store, you'll likely be directed to the app or website with the assistance of an employee.
See also: I got an in-depth look at T-Mobile's emergency response programs.
